


No Happy Endings

by BlueMoon2002



Category: Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Childhood Memories, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Survival, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27831571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMoon2002/pseuds/BlueMoon2002
Summary: Susanna Patrya Haltmann would never get her happy ending.But Susie would.(An origin story for a lovely secretary)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	No Happy Endings

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: some of my logic may be flawed. But if you’re just here for the angst, enjoy! I love me some angst, too.

Susanna should not have been in the room.

Her father had refused to allow her into the testing room, even though she’d been present for other testing phases. When she asked why she couldn’t be present for this one, he told her it was because he was testing the space-time transport program they’d found in the Mother Computer.

Mechanical prodigy though she was, she didn’t understand at first what that meant.

Turns out, it meant that the Mother Computer had the ability to create portals. Not just to other parts of the universe, but across space and time itself. It could even open portals to other worlds!

That had only made her more adamant that she must see the testing of the system. Neither of them, in their entire lives, had seen a machine capable of creating portals through space-time. The fact that they could be the first-if they could even _replicate_ it-was something she desperately wanted to see.

Even at such a young age, she understood the weight of history. Her father would be wealthier, more powerful than ever before if they could recreate the Mother Computer’s space-time system. Their names would be immortalized. Haltmann Works would have no rival.

And yet her father insisted, again and again, that she wait in her bedroom for the testing to be over. He told her, again and again, that the space-time transport system was dangerous.

She didn’t understand how it could be.

“What if something goes wrong, Susanna?” Her father had asked her amidst their argument. “If something went wrong, people could be very badly hurt. Perhaps even sent somewhere it would be impossible to find again. Lost forever. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if that happened to you.”

She’d pouted and complained and argued, but for once, her father would not be swayed. He told her the decision was final, and in no uncertain terms was she to leave her room for any reason. If she was hungry or needed the bathroom, then she could just use the private bathroom off the side of her room or have something brought up. But she _could not leave._

Later, she would understand, very, very much, how deadly serious her father had been about this matter. And how very, very foolish she had been.

However, as she sat in her room and fumed, all she could think about were all the machines her father had allowed her to approach in the past. He knew, perhaps from the beginning, she was very good with metalworking. He let her learn how the machines worked, how to use tools for repairs, how to connects wires and replace broken parts, even methods on creating new machines from scratch (which she did very, very often). She’d made a beloved hobby out of taking apart machines to see how they worked, then putting them back together again.

She’d even been allowed near the Mother Computer when it was first extracted from the ruins her father had spent weeks exploring for any ancient machinery that could be modernized. It had been unlike anything they’d ever seen. It was huge, and despite the ancient design it was clearly technology beyond anything ever seen before. Whatever ancients had created the machine must have been very, very intelligent creatures indeed.

And she’d heard a thing or two about the Ancients and their creations. Giant mechanical stars, ships that could traverse the stars in seconds...

If the Mother Computer was anything like that, then she wanted to see it come to life.

She had to be given credit. She was dedicated to her company, even when she was just a little girl.

But that didn’t change what happened. And it didn’t change what she decided to do, either.

See, her father was protective, yes. But also a little too trusting. He never wanted her to feel like she was being hurt. She’d endured punishment before for breaking rules, but never to such extremities that she hated him afterwards. Her father spoiled her. He couldn’t help it.

He adored her. She was his only family, and he wanted to keep her close for as long as possible. Perhaps even forever.

And yet...

He hadn’t locked her bedroom door.

And when she found this out...

Susanna, with all the excitement of an explorer about to make a miraculous discovery, slipped outside of her bedroom and into the hallway.

She’d been staying in that room during the weeks they’d stayed at the facility her father had had constructed on this planet. It was near the ruins he’d been excavating, and now served as a testing facility for the Mother Computer. It was a very nice room (only the best for Max Haltmann’s only child), but on that day, it had felt like a prison. An obstacle keeping her from her goal: watching history in the making.

And so she snuck down the hallway, knowing perfectly well where the testing room was. She was very, very careful to avoid catching the sight of security cameras and any other robotic guards stationed throughout the facility. They recognized her, and knew she wasn’t a threat, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

She would see this happen. She would see history be made and her father would understand that everything was fine.

Nothing could possibly go wrong, right? After all, the Mother Computer had so far barely even malfunctioned. Perhaps there was a problem with keeping it charged for long periods of time, but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be fixed. In fact, she’d even left a couple plans for a solution in her room. She’d present them to her dad later.

After lots of clever sneaking, she managed to find the door to the testing room left ajar (another mistake). Careful not to disturb any loud hinges, she peered inside.

And found her father standing feet away from her, conversing with a mechanic.

“And will it be safe?”

“It should be, Mr. Haltmann. Although I recommend you hold on tight to the rail if anything goes wrong.”

Her father nodded. They were standing atop a raised platform that spanned the entire front of the room, with stairs on both sides leading down to the floor. And standing tall in front of them was the Mother Computer, even now softly humming as the machinery within slowly booted up.

Every time she saw the Mother Computer, her breath was taken away. The sheer size, the power within, the possibilities it held for them and the company...

The Mother Computer could bring Haltmann Works beyond wealth and fame. It would make them the most powerful company in the universe.

She covered her mouth to silence her breath of awe. She couldn’t let herself be heard or seen. Her father would halt the testing and bring her back to her room, and she couldn’t have that.

She saw the railing her father was now gripping with both hands. Making a mental note to herself to also hold to something heavy (just in case, why would something go wrong?) as she silently slipped into the room, the door slipping shut as quiet as the air around her.

Pressing her small body against the wall, she inched to the left corner of the room, until she was standing in front of the stairs that led down to the main level.

Her father still didn’t know she was here, locked in conversation with whom she now recognized as the lead mechanic. The glow of the Mother Computer’s lights left the corners shrouded in shadow, so it was easy to quietly slip past employee tying down a large crate full of equipment and slip between it and the wall.

When she poked her he’s out from behind the crate, she was safely hidden in the alley formed by the bolted down crate and the wall of the room. She could easily see the Computer from this angle, and no one would see her or bother her.

She grinned at her successful sneaking and made herself comfortable. This was going to be a wild ride.

And she was going to behold all of it.

Her father would no doubt yell at her if he found her out. And she planned on telling him... eventually. Not until afterwards, though. When she’d proven she could have been there without all the sneaking and hiding.

She still wished she could have just been stationed at her father’s side, but since he’d been so insistent...

She sighed and made herself comfortable again. She’d deal with it all later. Of course she would.

Maybe she’d even get out of being grounded.

“Is everything ready?” Her father asked, driving away her imagination of what her being grounded might look like. Probably just her dad yelling “Susanna Patrya Haltmann!” over and over.

“Everything’s set, Mr. Haltmann. Just boot it up!” Confirmed the head mechanic.

Susanna’s heart began to race.

“Alright... Star Dream, activate the Space-Time Transport System!”

Star Dream... that was the only name the Mother Computer answered to, thought everyone just called it the Mother Computer. It was also voice-activated, already programmed to obey her father’s every order (and the orders of anyone granted access to the computer, though her father always wore the control helm. He was wearing it now).

“OKAY. ACTIVATING SPACE-TIME TRANSPORT SYSTEM.”

The loud whirring of the inner mechanisms of the computer filled the room, near deafening. But she didn’t even complain. She and her father, and all the mechanics and employees in the room, were focused on the computer. They all wanted to know-could the Mother Computer make portals?

Would the Mother Computer revolutionize their company? Give them knowledge that could change their company forever and make them a business superpower?

“C’mon, Star Dream,” Susanna murmured.

“EXECUTING SPACE-TIME TRANSPORT...

“EXTRADIMENSIONAL ROAD...”

Susanna watched her father swallow. She did as well.

“BOOTING... 3... 2... 1... BEGIN.”

Then...

Susanna couldn’t silence her gasp as something shot from the computer. Everyone seemed to gasp at once as a rip in the air was formed, and then... a hole. A star-shaped hole.

No, not a hole.

A _portal._

Susanna gasped again.

“Brilliant!” Her father exclaimed. She couldn’t help but agree. A wind came from the portal, a soft pull into whatever world was beyond that portal. She wondered what was within. She wondered when her father would start sending items through, to see where the portals led, to see if they could be used to enhance their business.

This was amazing! She couldn’t believe her father hadn’t wanted her to see this!

Careful not to be seen, she moved just a few inches from her hiding place.

That was when everything went wrong.

“WARNING. WORMHOLE NOT FULLY STABLE.”

The wind was growing stronger. Growing slightly wary, Susanna slipped back behind her crate, which was tied to the floor with heavy straps. She wondered if, with enough strength, the portal could rip it from its holdings and suck it right up.

“Mr. Haltmann, be careful!” Someone exclaimed. Susanna moved to the other side of the small alley, peering up at the platform to see her father leaning just a little too much over the railing. He was pulled back, but then...

“ERROR. FAILURE TO MAINTAIN WORMHOLE.”

The wind kept getting stronger! Susanna gasped as she felt even the crate began to gravitate towards the portal. Soon the wind became a brutal tempest, and the noise was deafening!

Then she heard the scream. And when she looked away from her father, it was to see a mechanic being yanked over the railing and into the portal.

The wind ripped away her own scream.

“STAR DREAM! DISENGAGE!” Her father shouted as another mechanic was pulled over. He braced himself against the railing keeping from being sucked away forever.

Her box was being pulled away! She gasped as she felt her own body start to be pulled in. She was scared. This wasn’t supposed to happen!

“ERROR. FAILURE TO DISENGAGE.”

“STAR DREAM!”

She was terrified! She was going to be sucked in!

Her father!

Her father would keep her safe! He would protect her!

He wouldn’t let her get sucked in!

Yet another mechanic, and a poor employee, were pulled into the portal. All loose items were being yanked in as well, and even the Mother Computer’s support cables were being rocked about by the portal. A smaller crate was ripped from its restraints and sucked in.

She grabbed the sides of her hiding place, one on the crate and another on the wall, and pushed herself towards the stairs with all the strength in her child’s body.

She understood, now. This was a mistake. She never should have come. She should have realized something could go wrong, something like this...!

She should have known!

She was a fool!

Still clutching the crate with one hand, she stretched her hand out for the stair’s railing. She needed to get as far away from the portal as possible. Perhaps even out of the room, if possible.

“We’re getting out of here!” Shouted the heads mechanic, shoving the door opened and reaching for her father’s hand. Yet another was brought into the portal. Others were struggling to get to the door, to freedom...!

Her father twisted around and managed to catch the head mechanic’s hand, turning his back on the Mother Computer and beginning to make his way out...

No! He couldn’t leave her!

“DADDY!” She wailed, her voice unable to be silenced.

Her father froze. Spun around to find her, gripping the railing for dear life.

“SUSANNA!” Her father wailed, breaking from the head mechanic.

“Don’t be a fool, Mr. Haltmann!”

There were tears streaming down Susanna’s face, being ripped from her before they could slide down her cheeks. She released the crate and managed to grab the rail with both hands.

Behind her, she heard a brutal tear. She sank her feet into the ground with all her might and didn’t look behind her as the crate was swallowed into that portal.

“DADDY!” She screamed again.

“I’M COMING!” Her father was slow, but he was coming! He would save her! She knew he would!

She’d never heard such terror in her father’s voice. Never seen such desperation in his eyes as he got closer to her, as he released the railing to reach for her.

“TAKE MY HAND!”

In her mind’s eye, she saw a time when she was afraid of riding a big, scary roller coaster. Her father had taken her hand and gently told her “I got you.”

He’s got her...

It was a battle to hold on. With all the desperation in the universe, she released the railing with one hand and stretched it out towards her father’s.

So desperate was she to get to her father, her strength began to fail her. Her feet began to slip off the floor, and she screamed as her hand fell and grabbed the railing. Soon her two hands were her lifeline, keeping her tethered to the railing. Her feet were off the floor, and her entire body was angled towards that portal.

“STAR DREAM, DISENGAGE!” Her father roared. “SUSANNA!”

“ERROR. FAILURE TO DISENGAGE.”

Her father screamed in frustration. He grabbed for her. She couldn’t let go. She was too scared.

“TAKE MY HAND, SUSANNA!”

She was so scared! 

_Daddy, save me!_

She let go of the rail and _stretched_.

Her fingers brushed her father’s.

Her other hand finally failed her. She lost her grip on the railing.

And she was ripped from her father’s grasp.

Her father left out a bloodcurdling _wail_ as she was dragged, screaming, into the portal. And all she could remember, when everything faded to black, was her father.

Screaming, screaming, screaming.

❧

_“Daddy?” Susanna mumbled. It was late and night, and her father was tucking her in after she had a bad nightmare. It was a horrible dream-she’d been taken away from her dad, and when she came back, he’d forgotten her._

_“Yes, Susanna?” Her father replied._

_“Will you always keep me safe?” She asked._

_Her father smiled, taking her tiny hand in his and squeezing._

_“I promise.”_

_Susanna smiled, and finally let herself close her eyes and sleep._

_In that moment, it had felt like her father would always be there. Watching over her. Protecting her._

_Keeping her safe._

❧

Susanna woke up.

She blinked, her vision blurry, but it quickly cleared to reveal a bright sky filled with many shades of blue. There were few stars, but other shapes were made in the sky, creating patterns she’d never seen on any of the planets she’d traveled to. She slowly sat up, wincing at how sore her body felt, and stared at the sky for several moments.

Her first thought was to find her father and tell him to look outside. Then she registered her surroundings.

She was laying in a round area, covered in glowing yellow rock, and surrounding her... were the broken bodies of the people who’d worked for her father. Mechanics, a stray employee... and shattered crates and bits of debris.

Her eyes widened.

She remembered.

The portal. The wind, the screaming, her father’s cry of her name as she was pulled in...

Frantic, she shot to her feet, crying out when she discovered her fall had been caught by the body of the mechanic who’d tied down the crate she’d hidden behind. That crate now lay a few feet away from her, unbroken, with a body crushed underneath it. She didn’t look too long. The sight of the blood made her feel very sick.

Her eyes went to the sky. She searched the entire area for any sign of the portal, listened as hard as she could for that telltale wind... but there was nothing.

Was she trapped here?

She couldn’t be trapped here! Where was her father? Was her father alright? Would he be reopening the portal?

Oh, she wished someone else was awake!

She checked all the bodies, even the ones with arms and legs twisted at horrible angles. She struggled not to throw up as she struggled to make one of them wake up, as she listened for the sound of a beating heart within. But she was a child, barely knowledgeable in the ways of reviving someone. Besides, they had all been killed by the fall.

It was a miracle she was unbroken as she was. All she felt was sore, and her body would sport bruises for several days.

But she was okay. She was alive.

...She was scared out of her mind. Everyone was dead.

Dead.

She’d never experienced death before. She knew it was a thing, of course. Her own mother had died in childbirth, her father said, although she didn’t exactly understand what that meant. But her mother had died, and she’d met others who’d experienced death, but she’d never experienced it on a personal level.

She didn’t know many of the employees well. But... she’d seen them when they were alive. And seeing them dead now... it scared her. Scared her out of her mind.

And she was stuck here. She didn’t know how to make it back!

Where even was she!?

She explored the space around her. There appeared to be large walls of rock on both sides of her. The other two sides were open to the sky. And when she looked down...

The mountain, or whatever it was she was own, sank and sank. There was no bottom in sight.

Other structures seemed to sink like this, while others simply floated!

Her eyes widened as she beheld that terrible, exciting world.

But as awestruck as she was by the sight of it all, it was all overshadowed by her overwhelming need to get home. She needed her dad. She needed him to take her into his arms and tell her she’ll be alright. She needed to be at home in her bed with her dad. Who cared if she was grounded for life? It was better then spending forever here, alone!

She remembered her father’s warning. Lost forever. She couldn’t be lost forever!

She would have to wait. Wait for her father to find her. Surely, he would come for her.

He had to!

She nodded to herself. She couldn’t panic. Couldn’t waste time with tears. She would be okay. Her father would find her, or she would find some other way out.

Of course she would!

Moments after assuring herself of this, she heard the flutter of wings. She was about to see if they were people coming to help her, but then she heard them screech.

That was the screech of animals on the hunt.

With a squeak of fear, she frantically searched her space for somewhere to hide. There was a tunnel to her left that led to stars knew where, but that was it. No other way out.

She noticed one of the smaller crates that had been sucked into the portal, It’s lid smashed open and bits of equipment designed for studying the Mother Computer inside. The machines were all smashed to bits, now, but she ran to it. She yanked all of the broken machinery out of the box, then tugged it over herself and hid.

It wasn’t too tight a fit, though she couldn’t stand upright in it. She curled herself into a tiny ball and prayed to whoever would hear her that they wouldn’t smell her. That she wouldn’t be found. That her father wouldn’t find her devoured by wild beasts.

She heard them arrive, heard them chatter to each other in whatever animal language they used. Then she heard... teeth sinking into flesh and bone.

Tears started to fall down her cheeks, and she buried her face in her knees and covered her ears as hard as she could. But she couldn’t silence the sound of their feasting. They were eating the bodies of her dad’s employees.

She stopped breathing when she felt something brush against the side of her hiding place. She didn’t dare move or make a sound when they made a sound as if they were sniffing her out.

Please, please, please...

She heard the flutter of wings, but this time they were going away. Leaving her.

She didn’t take a truly deep breath until she knew that they were gone.

Slowly, she lifted up the box.

The bodies were completely gone. Not even bones were left. Only drying puddles of blood.

She let out the breath she’d been holding. She was safe. For now.

But now she knew she needed to hide. She needed to stay safe. She needed to wait for her father to come save her.

Her stomach rumbled.

She lay down on her side and prayed her dad would come soon.

❧

_“I was so worried about you!” Her father exclaimed._

_“Sorry, Daddy,” Susanna murmured, looking at the ground in shame._

_She’d only wandered off for a moment, wanting to find the toy store she knew was in the mall. But then she’d suddenly been alone, without any sight of her father, and she’d panicked. It had taken an hour of wandering before people found her._

_“You’re okay, aren’t you?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_Her father sighed. “Okay.”_

_“I’m sorry,” she said again._

_“You don’t need to be sorry,” he said. “But next time you get lost, don’t go anywhere. It will be easier for me to find you if you stay put, okay?”_

_She nodded._

_Her father smiled. “Okay. If you want a toy that badly, I’ll get you one.”_

_Her face lit up._

❧

She hadn’t meant to sleep, but when she woke up, she realized she had.

And her stomach was rumbling louder than it was before.

At least there were no sign of those monsters, she thought as she sat up.

She was hungry.

Would she have had dinner by now? Dessert? Was it past her bedtime?

Was her father still trying to get to her? He had to be, right?

He had to, or else she would give up entirely.

She got to her feet and looked warily at the tunnel that led away from her arrival space. What if her father arrived while she was gone? What if he couldn’t find her and left her here?

Oh, she shouldn’t have been in the room.

She regretted it so, so much.

But she was here, now. She needed to stay alive. She needed to be here when her father came.

It would only be a few minutes. She needed to eat. She was starving.

She knew she could die if she didn’t eat or drink enough food.

She would not let her father come here just to find her dead.

...But what if the monsters came back?

She searched the broken piles of machinery she had with her, finally finding a sharp piece of metal. It didn’t look like it could do much, but she didn’t have much time to engineer a proper weapon, although she was sure she could. She had a few scraps, after all. She could do things with that.

Then she wandered into the tunnel.

It was a cave of the same glowing yellow rock from outside, and there wasn’t any sign of any monsters. She wondered if she should warn her father about that when he found her. They couldn’t have employees coming in here just to be eaten, after all.

She walked down that tunnel for what seemed to be a good while. Her stomach rumbled again, and she whimpered. How long had she been here? Hours? A day? More?

She wished she’d eaten the rest of her lunch.

She brandished her weapon in front of her. She had to be ready.

...She knew nothing about surviving in a place like this. Knew nothing about what to do if she was lost for longer than a few hours, with no one to help her.

...She fought the urge to start crying again.

Then she found a few flowers. Large pale buds that hadn’t bloomed yet. The bulbs were enormous.

She touched one.

The flower’s petals exploded apart, opening them plant to reveal... food?

It looked like food. It... looked like a fresh piece of bread.

Wary, she grabbed the piece of food and took a large bite.

...It was delicious!

She found herself eating the whole thing before she could even think about it. Then she tapped the other flowers too and found herself with a handful of food and drinks. The plants were magical!

Perhaps this place wasn’t entirely made of horrors after all.

Satisfied and more hopeful than ever, she went back down the tunnel to what she called her space with a skip in her step.

Only to find one of the monsters waiting for her.

❧

_“Do you know what to do when you talk to strangers?” Her father asked her._

_She nodded. “Tell them to leave me alone.”_

_“And if they don’t?”_

_“Run away.”_

_Her father nodded. “And what do you do when they grab you?”_

_“Scream?”_

_“Of course you scream. But here’s a word of advice from your mother. She would have told you to scream about fire.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Because sometimes, people are scared. So if you scream fire, someone will no doubt come.”_

_“And if nobody comes?”_

_Her father’s face darkened. “I will always come for you. But if I can’t get there in time...”_

_Her heart beat faster at the idea of her father not coming to save her._

_“...then you fight back. You use everything you can to make them let you go,” her father told her._

_“...Okay.”_

_“You aren’t weak, Susanna. You can be a fighter, if you have to be.”_

_She nodded._

❧

It looked to be made of purple flames. It was a spherical creature, with vicious wings and a long, feathering tail. It’s glowing, pupil-less eyes. Locked on hers when it heard her approach.

She wanted to start screaming. She dropped the food from her hands, all of it landing at her feet.

The monster’s eyes went to her food.

She needed to keep her things protected!

She grabbed the scrap of metal she’d drubbed just as the monster lunged for her.

She screamed.

Then she swung the metal at the monster as hard as she could.

She heard a scream of pain coming from the creature as something not quite like blood oozed from the gash in the monster’s front. She brandished the weapon at the monster, her eyes wide, her breath hoarse.

“Leave me alone!” She shouted.

Her heart was going to break free from her chest.

The monster tried to attack her again.

She made another gash in its front. Then she just started swinging, scream king all the while.

The monster didn’t die. But it finally gave up, screeching ruefully at her before flying away into the blue sky.

Alone again, she stood panting, brandishing her weapon. The monster hadn’t bled. Their gashes had been oozing, but it hadn’t bled. Did it even have blood? Could they be killed?

She swallowed. Slowly, her breathing slowed.

She sat down.

She was tired. So, so tired.

She couldn’t just sleep and eat and fight like this. She wanted to go home.

She was so lonely. She wanted someone to talk to.

She whimpered. She was going to start crying again.

She let the tears flow.

❧

_“Happy birthday,” her father cooed as she sat up in bed. Her eyes widened in pure delight when she saw he was holding a cupcake._

_“Yay!”_

_“All for you, Susanna!”_

_She grabbed it out of his hands and began removing the wrapper. “Thank you, Daddy!”_

_“There’s much more where that came from. We’re having a party later.”_

_Her eyes widened. “We are?”_

_“Of course we are. Nothing but the best for my daughter,” he said, ruffling her hair affectionately._

_She giggled, then sank her teeth into cake and frosting._

❧

She honestly didn’t know how long she’d been here.

The flowers from before had closed buds again, opening to reveal more food for her. And stuff to drink, too (mostly water and milk-not that liked soda and juice, too much, anyway. But she missed juice, though).

The monsters hadn’t come back, but she decided she needed to be ready for when they did come. So she’d taken to the broken bits of metal and started trying to fashion a weapon.

She was going for a pistol. She didn’t know how well it would work, though. She would have to test it, first. Perhaps on the sides of the crates.

Whenever she’d become sleepy, she’d lay down on the hard ground and sleep. It never seemed to get any warmer or colder. When she woke up, nothing had changed. No portal. No father.

She slept beside the crates, and tried not to sleep as deeply as she normally would. What if the monsters came back while she was asleep? What if her father came?

She wondered why he hadn’t yet. He’d once promised her to always come back for her. Surely, he wouldn’t have left her here.

Perhaps they’d needed to fix the Mother Computer. After all, the malfunction in the Space-Time Transport System had been the reason this had happened in the first place.

Maybe they’d needed to make sure it didn’t suck in anymore people, first. They must be working hard on it. Her father would have made it a top priority.

After all, she was his daughter. And he’d promised her he would come.

Still, it got lonely. And... boring.

There was nothing to do beyond working on a pistol that she wasn’t sure could work. She was still only a child-she’d never been allowed near weapons before, and all she had were pictures from her memory. There was also the food in the plants, but eating wasn’t going to keep her entertained.

She missed home. She wanted to go home. There were fun things to do at home. She missed all her toys, and the robots she would take apart and put back together again. She missed her father, who would always make time for her no matter how busy work got.

She even missed her lessons. They’d been boring, too, but... it was nothing like being here. She had no one and nothing. She was alone.

...Well, she would have to keep waiting. There was nothing else she could do.

But her father was coming for her. She reassured herself of that.

❧

_“Daddy, let’s play!” Susanna exclaimed, running into her father’s office._

_“Not now, Susanna,” her father said, not looking up from his piles of paperwork._

_“But I’m bored, Daddy!”_

_“Aren’t you playing with your toys?”_

_“I am, but no one else will play with me!”_

_“Well, I’m sorry.”_

_“Please play with me, Daddy?”_

_“Susanna,” her father said, finally looking up. He looked tired. “I have to work.”_

_“Work is boring.”_

_“Maybe so, but it’s necessary. You’re going to inherit the company one day, you know.”_

_Susanna made a face. Her father’s lips twitched upward._

_“I’ll play with you later, Susanna. I promise.”_

_She sighed and nodded, hugging her dolls to her chest._

_(But he kept his promise...)_

❧

For the first time in her life, Susanna wished she had a bath.

There was nothing to wash herself with beyond the drinking water she had, and her clothes were getting worn. She’d been here for... a few weeks, maybe? She didn’t have a calendar, and she wasn’t like those characters in the movies who made tally marks for each day on the walls. She hadn’t walked beyond the flowers in the tunnel, and she’d only encountered another monster since the first time. She’d done the same things she did the first time-she slashed and slashed until she was exhausted and the monster was gone, then she laid down and cried herself to sleep.

The monsters’ presence was her only company, and she hated it more than anything in the world.

She didn’t cry much anymore, except for the times she’d attacked the monsters and her first few nights here, when she’d cried herself to sleep. The skies didn’t grow brighter or darker. She couldn’t tell the time at all.

For all she knew, she could have been gone for months. Or weeks. Maybe even a year...

She couldn’t tell the time. All she did was eat, sleep, and wait. And she was getting tired of waiting. Really, really tired of waiting.

...She regretted going into the room.

She regretted it so, so much.

❧

_“Daddy,” Susanna murmured._

_“Yes, Susanna?”_

_“I wish you didn’t have to work so much,” she confessed, wrapped her arms around her legs._

_“Why is that?”_

_“There’s not many other people I can play with,” she said._

_Her father sighed._

_“I wish I could spend more time with you, too,” he admitted._

_“Really?”_

_He nodded. “I wish I wasn’t as busy as I am, but running a company is never going to be easy.”_

_“Will I have to do all that work?”*_

_“Perhaps,” her father suggested. He turned to her again. “But that is a far, far way off.”_

_“What about you being so busy?”_

_“I can’t change my workload, Susanna.”_

_Her expression fell._

_“But when I get the time, we’ll do something really fun. Okay?”_

_She nodded. She didn’t feel better._

❧

She needed to get out.

She was a child. A scared, small child. With nothing but food and drink and a space to relieve herself and chunks of metal all around her.

She’d taken some of the scraps and made a crude recreation of her father’s likeness, which she hugged to her chest every night despite the sharp edges. She dreamt that her father was holding her, taking her back home.

When she woke up, he wasn’t there. And she was lonelier than ever.

His face was beginning to fade from her memory. She couldn’t remember the color of his eyes, or the specific shade of his purple hair. All she could remember...

...was the sound of his screaming as she was dragged into that portal.

She’d stopped crying. Not even when a third monster came for her, and she brandished her blade of metal and tried to gut it.

All she did was lay on her side and eat and drink and sleep, only rising when she heard the sounds of a threat. Her body felt so heavy, even though she was keeping herself fed, and hydrated, and (somewhat) clean.

Her hair was getting longer.

Her clothes were filthy.

...She needed to get out.

❧

_...What is this?_

_Why is this happening?_

_Why am I here?_

_Why did this happen?_

_Her father’s screaming haunted her mind._

_Her loneliness threatened to crush her._

_And her father..._

_Her father..._

_“GIVE HER BACK!”_

_...What?_

_“Please... give her back.”_

_Was this her father’s office?_

_There was Max Haltmann himself, looking disheveled. He looked like he hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep in weeks. He was standing in front of the Mother Computer, which was now positioned in the room Susanna knew had been hidden beneath his office._

_His eyes were red and raw._

_“ERROR.”_

_Tears were streaming down his face. “Why not?”_

_“UNABLE TO LOCATE THE ONE KNOWN AS SUSANNA PATRYA HALTMANN.”_

_“You know where she is!”_

_“ERROR.”_

_He buried his face in his hands._

_Daddy...?_

_Daddy! Daddy, it’s me!_

_She ran to him. She grabbed the back of his suit._

_Her hands went right through._

_Daddy! I’m right here! Turn around and look at me!_

_She was screaming at the top of the lungs. Screaming and screaming and screaming. She screamed until her voice was hoarse._

_DADDY!_

_I’M RIGHT HERE!_

_DADDY!_

❧

She woke up with tears streaming down her face and a scream in her throat.

She was still here. She was still stuck here. Alone. And her father...

She wiped the tears off of her face. Her father was looking for her, right...? He wasn’t... He wasn’t going to leave her, right...?

She finished her pistol the other day.

She wanted to use it.

She didn’t know if would work, though. It looked like the pistols she remembered seeing, but she’d never wielded a gun before. And it didn’t shoot bullets. She’d managed to take the scraps around her and put a tiny system inside that conducted electricity. When she pulled the trigger, a shot of electrify came out.

She’d electrocuted the test dummy she’d made.

She took the pistol in her hand and the metal doll of her father and hugged them both to her chest.

They were her only friends in this cold, scary place.

...She heard it.

The monsters.

She warily got to her feet, and with trembling hands lifted her pistol and pointed it towards the source of the noise. When she saw them, her heart sank.

There were three of them.

If she let them kill her, she’d be ripped apart. It would hurt.

And her body would rot here.

...She wanted to go home. She wanted the lessons, and the toys, and the food, and the baths, and the warm embrace of her father. She didn’t know if her dream was real, but the horrible weight of truth she’d felt in that vision...

She needed to go home.

She needed to get out.

The monsters saw her, a tiny person holding a crudely made electricity gun and a metal doll. She was a child. She was a child.

She remembered never wanting to grow up.

She was growing up faster than she ever thought she would.

She pointed her gun at the monsters and they screeched in hunger as they flew towards her.

She started firing.

Bolts of electricity flew from her weapon, striking the monsters and sending volts through their body. She missed more often than she hit, but when she did...

The monsters kept having to stop because of the electricity flooding their bodies. Even the green monster, who’s body hummed with the same volts, had to stop and struggle against the foreign lightning.

She kept shooting and shooting and shooting. She didn’t even scream.

Two of the monsters gave up, but one of them kept trying to get to her. She kept aiming and firing, and then...

It shot a volt of lightning at her.

She dove out of the way, and it lunged for her.

She screamed. It was primal and full of terror and rage.

She fired and fired and fired and fired and fired-

She pumped so much electricity into the monster that it collapsed to the floor. It twitched and shook, and it couldn’t even scream.

She kept firing until it stopped moving completely.

Then she watched its body melt into nothingness.

And she fell to her knees.

And she buried her face in her hands.

Her father wasn’t coming for her. Not any time soon.

...

...

If her father wasn’t coming...

...Then she would get out of here herself.

❧

_“Daddy, look!” Susanna exclaimed, presenting the cell phone to her father. “I fixed it!”_

_“You fixed it? However did you fix it?” He asked, taking the phone in his hands. He’d handed her the broken phone earlier, telling her that no matter what he did, he couldn’t make it turn on._

_She’d immediately set to fixing that problem._

_“I took it apart, and I found the problem. I just needed to replace a part!”_

_“Really?”_

_She nodded._

_“And... how did you figure out which part was broken?” He asked her._

_“It didn’t look right.”_

_“...Well. You really are an expert at technology, aren’t you?” He asked her, eyes bright with pride._

_She smiled proudly and nodded._

_He smiled as well._

_“Well. If you can fix a phone on intuition alone, perhaps I should get you to help me with other problems,” he told her. “I bet you could make anything you set your mind to if you had enough stuff.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Of course, Susanna. You’re my little genius,” he cooed, ruffling her hair._

❧

Susanna set to working on creating a portal device, using only her memory of the prints of the Space-Time Transport System. She’d memorized the prints, and thank the stars above she hadn’t let the memory fade, like some of her other memories.

She had only the piles of scrap in the boxes that had come with her into this horrible place. But it would be enough for now. Enough to get her started.

Soon she would go and search for more parts. There had to be more garbage scattered across the area. She would use it. She would use everything she had, and she would fight tooth and nail to escape.

She would get home.

_She would get home._

She lost track of all time. Everything blurred together. Eat. Work on the machine. Experiment, fail, find a small inkling in the parts, bits and pieces of ideas. Most of the time, she couldn’t find the pieces together right, but she was determined. Drink. Use any water at hand to keep herself somewhat clean.

She missed a birthday. Maybe even two. She’d been here so long. She was starting to grow.

She was a few inches taller. Then a foot.

Her hair got longer, until she finally took a shard of metal and chopped off the excess. She tossed the torn strands of pink into the abyss below.

She had no one to talk to. She spoke to the crude recreation of her father, that she still slept with every night, even though most of her hope at rescue was gone. She didn’t care if her father had failed. She would not.

Her father had called her his little prodigy. His little genius. He’d told her that she could make anything if she had enough tools. And if she didn’t, then she could make her own.

Thus, she would make the tools for her escape.

 _I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann_ , she would say, when the working became horrible and despair reeled its hideous head. _I am a genius in mechanical engineering. I will get out of here. I will go home._

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann. I am my father’s little genius._

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann. I will go home._

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann. I will go home._

After stars knew how long, she had a basis. She had a foundation. She had the plans written out in her head.

And she went out into that tunnel to find more. More parts, more tools.

_I will get home._

After only a few long minutes of searching, the tunnel branched off. And one of the branches led to a large field of fallen debris. No bodies, of course, the monsters had taken them all away. But... parts. Bits and pieces of machinery.

And the field was large enough that she could find anything and everything she needed.

So she kept working. Days turned into weeks into months. She’d been here more than a year. Maybe more. She didn’t know. She’d stopped caring.

All she cared about was home. She worked through such frantic frenzy it was a miracle she stayed sane with the constant inconveniences. Her tools often weren’t good enough, parts often didn’t cooperate, and she would have to make the system that converted energy into a wormhole from imagination and scratch alone. But through it all, she repeated that same mantra.

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann. I will go home._

She will fight for it. She will not die here.

She will not die here.

And she kept working. Sometimes even fighting sleep to get things done.

When the monsters returned, she attacked. After the first time, it became easier and easier to kill them. She upgraded her pistol. Now it shot more concentrated volts.

Soon, they stopped bothering her completely.

And she kept working.

❧

_She lay shivering in bed, her head hot and heavy from the fever. The rest of her went from hot to cold, but she was too weak to move her heavy sheets when she got uncomfortable._

_Her father put aside a lot of his work to take care of her. There was a doctor keeping regular tabs on her, and people to keep her fed and taken care of while he was away, but oftentimes he insisted on doing certain things himself._

_“How are you feeling, Susanna?” He asked her._

_“Hot,” she complained._

_“The doctor says the fever should break soon. Do you need anything?”_

_She shook her head. “Can you stay with me, though?” She asked. She didn’t like being alone._

_“Of course I will,” he replied. “I will never abandon you,” he vowed._

_She believed him._

❧

_Daddy... it hurts._

She developed a fever in the night. Unable to return to sleep, she wrapped her arms tight around herself and shivered. Her clothes were too small, now. She would have to find new ones. Something. Anything.

Anything was better than this.

She wanted to go home she wanted to go home she wanted to go home.

She threw up over the edge of the cliff. Laid back down. Didn’t get back up again.

_I will go home I will go home I will go home._

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann._

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann._

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann._

_I will not die._

_I will not die._

_I will not die._

_I will go home._

❧

_“One day, Susanna,” her father told her, watching over the city from his office tower, “I won’t be the president anymore.”_

_She gasped. “What? But what’ll happen to the company?”_

_Her father would be president forever, she’d thought. Wasn’t that how things worked?_

_He laughed. “You don’t need to worry about Haltmann Works. There will be a new president when I retire.”_

_“But you’re the best president!”_

_“Thank you, Susanna,” her father said with a smile. “But nothing lasts forever, you know. One day, I’ll be too old. The same thing happened to my father, who was president before me.”_

_Slowly, she blinked. She turned her head towards the city. “Daddy?”_

_“Yes, Susanna?”_

_“Will_ I _be president one day?”_

_“You will.”_

_Her eyes went wide and she stared down at the city in wonder. “I get the whole company?”_

_He nodded._

_“Wow!”_

_“It won’t be easy, though, Susanna,” he warned her. “There’s a lot to learn about running a company. It isn’t just making cool robots for people to buy. There’s lots of other stuff, too.”_

_“I won’t have to do boring paperwork, will I?”_

_“I’m afraid you will,” he told her._

_She pouted._

_Her father chuckled. “You don’t need to worry about a thing, Susanna. You won’t become president for a very, very long time. In the meantime, I’ll teach you what I know.”_

_“Okay!” she exclaimed. She was honestly excited. She liked the idea of being president. She’d make every employee have_ to eat ice- _cream once a day!_

_“I truly believe you make a capable heir, Susanna,” he said. “You’re already intelligent, and the ideas you come up with... goodness, I’ve never had such ideas like yours. Perhaps you’d be even better than me!”_

_“Nah,” Susanna disagreed. “You’re the best president, Daddy.”_

_He smiled._

_“There’s something else you have, Susanna, something that will take you very far. You have great determination.”_

_“What’s that?”_

_“It means that you will do anything you put your mind to, and nothing can stop you,” he explained. “Your mother was much the same way. Stubborn, unstoppable... yes, I truly believe you’ll make a great president.”_

_She smiled._

_“When will I be president?”_

_“I don’t know the exact date and time,” her father said. “But when that time comes... you will be ready.”_

_She looked out over the city and imagined this city, this company, as her own._

_And she smiled._

❧

Her body was growing. She grew out her clothes.

Once she recovered from her illness, through sheer willpower alone, she went to the field of garbage and found herself some new clothes. They were old and dirty, but they weren’t the small children’s clothes that had become worn and then, the pink color of her dress faded and the soles of her shoes having long-since fallen off. She also found undergarments, too, that she worked hard to wash and cycle through on a regular basis.

She thought she might be a teenager, now. It had been so long since she’d been brought here that she didn’t know how old she truly was. She had been eight when she’d been dragged here. Now she could be twelve. Or thirteen. Or maybe even fifteen.

She just didn’t know. It all blurred together.

She’d find out when she got out. Yes, when she got out, she would find out, and she would be normal. She could still be normal.

Her father had to still be waiting for her. Had to still have hope for her. Even if he was forced to give up searching for her, he must still be waiting for her.

So she continued on working. Built a frame for the machine, found the other parts, and got to putting them together.

She should be home. She should be learning how to run Haltmann Works. She should be normal. She should be growing up like a normal person, not trapped here, alone.

(She shouldn’t have been in the room she shouldn’t have been in the room she shouldn’t have been in the room)

Her voice got deeper. She didn’t use it much, but it had definitely changed. Her body got taller, too. She was becoming an adult.

She needed to get out.

She continued her routines and her mantras, remaining firmly wedged on the edge of her sanity as she fought her way through flawed tools and uncooperative machinery. She was going to get out. She had hope and determination. She had tools that her father had promised her she would use to run a company.

She was Susanna Patrya Haltmann, and she would not die here.

She would get out.

Every day, she got closer.

And closer.

And closer...

❧

_“I don’t like waiting,” Susanna complained, laying flat on her back on the restaurant bench._

_Susanna, sit upright, please,” her father scolded her. She groaned and sat up._

_“I’m hungry,” she exclaimed._

_“The food will be here, soon, Susanna. Sometimes, you have to wait.”_

_“I don’t like waiting.”_

_“Well, sometimes, we have to do things we don’t want to do. Like waiting.”_

_“Like working?”_

_Her father nodded. “If it makes you feel better, Susanna...”_

_She lifted her head up from the table._

_“There will be times where you have to wait for very long periods of time. But, more often than not, the wait will always be worth it.”_

_“What could I be waiting for that could possibly be taking so long?”_

_Her father shrugged. “But you must always have patience, Susanna. Sometimes, you have to wait. Otherwise, the thing you’re waiting for won’t be perfect.”_

_She hummed in thought of that. “So... sometimes waiting is good?”_

_He nodded. “Sometimes,” he said, “having something later is much better than having something now. Other times, you must wait, because what you’re waiting for isn’t ready. Yet other times, you must wait for the perfect moment, no matter when that moment may be.”_

_She nodded in understanding. “I get it.”_

_“I’m glad you do.”_

_She leaned back and started to wait. Patiently._

❧

Done. Done. Done.

She was done.

It was a crudely made, circular device taller than her new height and far wider than her. But... she was certain it worked.

Previous test runs had confirmed that the machine could function, although the one time she’d attempted to create a portal had caused a malfunction that left her screaming with frustration. It had taken her hours to regain her composure and stop herself from giving in to her despair.

It wasn’t perfect, nothing like the Mother Computer, but it worked. It worked. It had to work. And if it didn’t...

...She might as well fling herself off the cliff.

Her body was trembling. She was so nervous. She swallowed, hard. She hugged that metal doll of her father to her chest.

This was it. This was the moment.

3... 2... 1...

She connected a couple wires, then pressed a button.

And she prayed.

And she prayed.

And she prayed.

The machine was designed to breach the world outside of this one. Remembering only the coordinates of her old world, the planet where they’d tested the Mother Computer, she programmed those coordinates into the machine. The last thing she needed to do was trap herself in yet another dimension entirely separate from the one she’d been born in.

(Although anything would be better than this eternal lonliness. She hadn’t seen another person for ages.)

The machine hummed and whirred and wiggled. She took a few steps back, in case it exploded. She clasped her hands together. This was it. Please let this be it. Please, stars, please.

Hope hadn’t abandoned her. Please, let there still be hope.

Sparks flew from the machine. And in the circle, where the portal was to be made...

A single flash. Then more. Then, a blare of bright light-!

She covered her eyes. And when she opened them...

A portal. A star-shaped portal, just like the one from that day. A portal to another world, a portal to... home? People???

Her father???

She buried her hands in her hair. She stared and stared and stared. She was staring at her freedom, at escape, at the end the end the end.

And she screamed. Screamed in joy, in triumph. It was a battle cry. A cry that proved she had not been beaten, that she had survived.

She hugged the doll to her chest. She had nothing else to bring. Nothing nothing nothing. She grabbed food and shoved it all onto a torn sheet of fabric she’d using as a blanket, then fashioned it into a bag that she slipped around her shoulders and over her back. It was heavy. Her body was thin. Too thin.

She didn’t care. Didn’t care about anything.

She was Susanna Patrya Haltmann, and she was going home.

With reckless abandon, she threw herself into the portal.

❧

_“Do. Not. Leave. This. Room.”_

_“Why not, Daddy?”_

_“Because you could be pulled inside, Susanna. Lost forever. I would never forgive myself.”_

_“Is it really that dangerous?”_

_“...I don’t want you to find out.”_

❧

...The sky was a deep purple.

Just like she remembered.

The surface was a cool grey rock.

Just like she remembered.

The planet was like she remembered.

She looked towards where she believed the testing facility was.

She saw a city instead.

She didn’t care if it was the same planet or not. A city meant people. A city meant civilization.

A city meant she’d done it.

Done it.

DONE IT!

SHE’D ESCAPED!

SHE WAS FREE!

She laughed like she’d gone mad. And she ran towards that city as fast her legs could carry her. Ran to the road leading into the city, following the cars as they journeyed towards it.

She ran and ran and ran.

Then...

Then...

She was tired...

Her legs started to slow...

No...

Keep going...

Must... keep going...

Daddy...

“Ma’am? Ma’am, are you alright?”

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann..._

“Ma’am?”

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann..._

“Call an ambulance! This woman needs help!”

_I am..._

She collapsed.

There were hands on her. People. There were people?

“Ma’am? Ma’am, what’s you’re name?”

“Sus... Susie... no, Susan... Sus...”

“Ma’am, rest. You’re going to be alright.”

_I’m going to be alright..._

Darkness surrounded her.

❧

_“Susanna!”_

_“Daddy!”_

_There he was! After getting lost in the mall, she’d become so scared she’d be stuck there forever. But now, here was her father!_

_“I was so scared, Daddy!” Susanna sobbed, tears streaming down her face and he wrapped his arms tightly around her._

_“I was scared, too, Susanna,” he told her. “But you’re okay now. I’ve got you.”_

_Everything would be okay, because her father was here._

❧

Beep... Beep... Beep...

What was that noise? What were those smells? Where was she?

Her eyelids were so heavy, but she forced them open. And stared.

White ceilings. Softness underneath her. A bed. She was in a bed? When was the last time she was in a bed?

Her old bed, from her childhood, was nothing more than blurred memories of huge down pillows and a pink comforter. For... Forever, she’d spent forever laying on hard, glowing yellow rock.

She became more awake. More aware.

And she remembered.

The machine... the machine had _worked_. It had made a way out, and she’d left everything in that horrible place behind, and... now she was here.

Where was she?

She vaguely remembering losing consciousness. Had it been exhaustion?

She became more aware of other things. Tubes had been stuck into her. Was... was there a tube in her bladder?

She forced herself to sit up, but her head spun, and she fell back against the pillow right as the door to the room opened, and someone came in.

“Ah, you’re awake!” The person exclaimed.

Susanna stared at the person. And stared. Finally, she forced her mouth open.

“Where am I?” She asked, her voice hoarse from disuse. She gasped. Her mouth was dry!

“You’re in the hospital, dear.”

She nodded. “Why?” She managed to choke out.

“You collapsed from exhaustion outside the interstate. And I must say, when you came in, we were all very stumped! It appeared as if you’d been eating well and staying hydrated, yet your clothes were in tatters and you lacked proper hygiene. You don’t need to worry too badly, though-we’ve kept you well fed and clean while you were asleep.”

“How long?”

“Two weeks.”

Two weeks!

The person-a doctor-noticed her wide eyes and smiled gently. “You don’t need to worry about a thing, miss. You should be fine after a couple more weeks. Do you need anything?”

Susanna’s mind was racing, full of questions. What year was it? Where was her father? Did he know she was still alive? Did anyone? Did this doctor realize who she was?

“Water,” she rasped.

The doctor nodded and left.

❧

_“How come you didn’t want anyone to call you Susie?” Her father asked as he drove her home from a business gathering where kids had been allowed to attend._

_“You never call me Susie,” she pointed out._

_“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a nickname.”_

_Susanna gave her dad a smile. “But I like my name.”_

_“Do you?”_

_“Yep! I’m Susanna Patrya Haltmann! No Susies or Susans or Sues for me! Just Susanna!”_

_Her father laughed._

_“Well, guess that settles it, Susanna.”_

❧

Susanna learned a great many things during the month she continued taking treatment at the hospital.

When she gave the paramedics her name, her voice had been slurring so badly they’d simply decided to refer to her as “Susie.” No last name.

She attempted to correct them.

“My name’s Susanna, actually.”

“Any last name?”

“Haltmann.”

The doctor writing her name down had stopped and stared at her. “Haltmann?”

She nodded.

“Alright, then.”

Susanna had not liked the skeptical stare she’d gotten.

She also learned the city in question had been founded about eight years ago. Haltmann Works had come and turned the entire planet, which had been uninhabited by intelligent life before, into a highly advanced civilization.

Susanna had nearly been startled from her bed. Her father had done this? Turned an entire planet into a civilized world, creating thousands of cities and towns and housing billions of people? And they claimed the effort had only taken a year of work.

What had her father done while she was gone? What business endeavors had he pursued?

She’d have to ask. And make herself as much a part of it as possible.

She wanted to know how her father had fared. But when she asked about the president of the company, nobody could tell her anything.

“Who knows what that man’s doing these days?” Mused the doctor. “I mean, his company stopped worrying about this place ever since it stopped getting money into his wallet.”

She wondered what that meant. She was too afraid to ask.

What if her father had forgotten her? What if he’d changed?

No, she couldn’t think like that. Otherwise, all her work trying to escape would have been for nothing. Her survival would have been for nothing.

She also learned that she was twenty years old.

She’d been gone for twelve years.

Twelve years... twelve years...

Stars.

She’d completely grown up.

...And she still felt so, so small.

❧

_“Wow ...” Susanna exclaimed, her face pressed against the window of the space vessel. “The universe is so big!”_

_“This is just our galaxy,” her father corrected her. “The real universe is in-comprehensively huge. Some believe it is still growing to this day.”_

_“Really?”_

_Her father nodded. “It makes you feel small,” he admitted._

_“It doesn’t for me!” Susanna exclaimed. “Do you think the company could cover the whole universe?”_

_“Goodness, I have no idea.”_

_“Maybe we’ll be able to find out one day!”_

_“Maybe,” her father said softly, eyes on that infinite sea of stars._

❧

When the time came to discuss Susanna’s release, she suddenly realized that she had no way of getting back to her father.

The galaxy was a large place, and if Haltmann Works had expanded, then it might be impossible to find her father again. Worse still was the fact she had no where to go-no home, nothing. She had no means of getting off this planet.

What was she to do?

When she finally explained her worries to the doctor arranging her release, they smiled reassuringly.

“Oh, the hospital’s been paying for your care. You don’t owe us any money.”

Her eyes went wide. “Really?”

They nodded. “For people without identities, we usually take care of everything for them, and then find a place for them to go once they’re released. You’re actually one of the more sane ones we’ve had.”

“You mean... you’ll help me?”

“Wherever you need to go, but I’m afraid you’re on your own after that.”

She shook her head. “I can take care of myself,” she said. She’d been doing so for twelve years after all. “I just... I just need to get off the planet.”

“Where are you trying to go?”

She named the planet she had been born on, the planet her father and she had lived on. It was also where the main headquarters of the company was. No matter how many planets they travelled to or added to their business, that place was always the place they went back to.

“Why there?”

“I have family there,” she said. “I... I remember I had family there. I think they might still be there.”

She prayed he was still there. That he hadn’t moved on. She hadn’t been able to research anything.

“Hmmm... we should be able to provide enough for a one-way trip there,” the doctor said. “I’ll have to bring it up with the higher ups.”

She nodded. “Please do so.”

The doctor nodded and left.

❧

_When Susanna placed the propeller atop her little device, she was grinning._

_She’d wanted to make a flying device for ages, and now she had! She’d had to find the propeller blades herself, because her dad wouldn’t let have anything “dangerous”, but it hadn’t been too hard. There were always scraps of metal laying around for her to find._

_She pushed a button, and the propeller started spinning, and the small machine began to hover in the air. With one hand on the machine, she squealed in delight when she felt her body leave the ground. It was strong enough to carry her!_

_She was hovering around her bedroom, laughing, when her father came in._

_“Susanna, I’m ho-MY GOODNESS!”_

_Her father was so startled out of his wits he fell onto his behind. That set Susanna into a fit of laughter she couldn’t control for a good two minutes._

_“Stars, Susanna, you’re going to be the death of me,” her father murmured as she continued to fly about, laughing._

❧

Susanna was stunned by the... charity of these people. She was in shock when they came to her and told her she would be provided the means to buy a one-way trip to her home planet, as well as enough left over to find a temporary place to stay until she finds whatever family she’s looking for.

It wasn’t like she was unused to such kindness, but... they could’ve used that money for their own business, perhaps even to improve the hospital. She was surprised they would spend so much on her. The trip was expensive, wasn’t it?

“I mean, kind of,” said the doctor. “But... well, we can’t very well send you out into the streets.”

She nodded numbly, still shocked.

Before she could protest (argue that she doesn’t need to be helped, that they should help themselves instead), everything was arranged. There was a ship leaving the city, they said, and they managed to buy her a room. It wouldn’t be the luxury suites she was used to, but it would be enough for her until she got there, and then... well, with they money they were putting in her pocket, it would certainly be enough to get her somewhere decent.

The day she was to be released, she was frightened out of her mind. The world was so large, and she... she was so alone. She felt so small. She’d never needed anything in her life, and now she was surviving on charity alone.

She needed to find her father. Needed him to take her back in. She didn’t... she didn’t know how to make it on her own. They expected her to act like an adult, but she’d never been able to learn.

She would have to learn, and quickly. She would have to make it home.

When they handed her her bag, which had been inside a closet in her hospital room, she was surprised to find her pistol still inside.

“I mean, it’s just a toy, isn’t it?” Asked the doctor.

She could only nod.

Within moments after being handed a bag and signing release forms, she was released from the hospital with enough money for the trip to her home and a temporary home until she could something better.

As well as a ticket that said her name was “Susie Halman.”

She disliked the misspelling, but no point in correcting it. It was the only meager scrap of identity she had.

“Take care of yourself!” The doctor called to her as she took her first steps into the world.

“I will!” She called back.

_My name is Susanna Patrya Haltmann. I’m going home._

❧

_“Daddy...”_

_“Yes, Susanna?”_

_“Why don’t I have a mommy?”_

_Her father’s pen froze over the document he’d been signing. Slowly, he turned to her. “Why do you ask?”_

_“The other kids have mommies,” she said._

_“...Oh.”_

_She stared at him. “Do I have a mommy?” She asked._

_“Of course you do.”_

_“Where is she?”_

_Her father sighed. “She passed away when you were born,” he said._

_She blinked._

_“Really?”_

_“Yes,” he said. “After you were born, she became very sick, and nothing we could do would make her better. So... she passed away.”_

_“Oh...” Susanna stared at the floor._

_“It wasn’t your fault,” her father said quickly. “It wasn’t your fault at all! She just... she always had problems with her health.”_

_“She was sick?”_

_“She was very sick,” her father agreed. “But that had nothing to do with you, Susanna. I’m very happy to have you in my life.”_

_Susanna managed a small smile. “I love you, Daddy.”_

_“I love you, too, Susanna. More than I can say.”_

❧

It was definitely unlike the luxury suites her father had always rented for space travel. In fact, they’d even had their own private ships.

She was unused to the amount of people, and had to be careful when buying food from the cafeteria. She couldn’t waste it all on food.

She was grateful her father had at least taught her a little about how to manage money. He’d been so strict when he’d first handed her the debit card, telling her how to be smart and what to do if she ever needed money quickly. The card had been in her bedroom the day she’d been pulled into that portal.

At the thought of the Mother Computer, she shuddered. She wondered what her father had done with it. She wondered if he ever made the Space-Time Transport System work.

She wondered if she could handle seeing it again. Even if it hadn’t meant for this all to happen.

All she could do was wonder. She didn’t have access to a phone or a computer. She couldn’t find any sort of news on her father, on herself, even. She didn’t know what had happened to Haltmann Works while she was gone.

All she knew was that, apparently, her father now had the technology to turn entire planets into technically advanced civilizations. And in such short spans of time, too.

She certainly hoped she would be able to get herself involved in those projects.

Sitting atop her bed, she wrapped her arms around herself.

...If someone had told her childhood self that all of this would happen-that she’d be surviving on charity alone, that she would lose everything and have to fight tooth and nail to create the means to get it back-she would have laughed. And laughed.

She never would have imagined this.

...No, she couldn’t get emotional again. She’d come this far. She’d survived that hellish place. She could make it home. She and her father... they could heal.

There was hope for her yet.

❧

_“Was I looking for something? I can hardly remember.”_

_...What?_

_What was this?_

_Was this..._

_She gasped._

_It was her father again._

_Alone, in his grand office. And there... there was the Mother Computer._

_“D-Dad?”_

_He looked so... different._

_He was older, yes, and she had aged, too. Yet... it looked like a weight had come off his shoulders. Like... like he was happy again. He carried himself with a confidence Susanna had never seen before on her father. It was a confidence in wealth. In power. He knew he was powerful, and he reveled in it._

_His eyes were so cold._

_Susanna stumbled back from it. That gaze..._

_That gaze did not belong on her father!_

_“ERROR.”_

_They both turned to the Mother Computer. “No, I believe I was looking for something, once. Or... perhaps it was someone.”_

_“FAILURE TO LOCATE.”_

_“You never did find them,” her father grumbled, glaring in the Computer’s direction._

_“I APOLOGIZE.”_

_“It doesn’t matter, anymore,” her father sighed. “I have what I need... money, power, and infinite prosperity.”_

_And yet... something seemed off about the way he said it. Like it was a mantra. Like... like he was saying it to reassure himself, to keep himself from falling apart._

_He turned his back on the computer and left the room._

_Susanna didn’t even try to call out to him. She knew it would do no good._

_“Dad... this can’t be happening, right?”_

_“HE HAS MOVED ON.”_

_She jumped, then spun and gaped at the Computer. There was something alien about it. Something... sentient._

_She felt like it was looking into her very soul._

_“HE HAS MOVED ON... HE IS MUCH BETTER NOW THAT HE IS NO LONGER BURDENED BY THE PAST.”_

_“What do you mean? And how can you...?”_

_“YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE IF YOU CANNOT DO_ THE SAME.”

_“What do you mean?”_

_“I WILL SEE YOU SOON ENOUGH.”_

_“Wait, Star Dream!”_

❧

She woke with a gasp and a scream in her throat.

That dream... Stars, that dream...

It had felt so real!

She sat upright. She was in the small room bought for her by strangers. A room she hoped she wouldn’t have to stay in much longer, though it was certainly better than the cold floors of that world she’d been trapped within.

She sat up and stared at her bedroom wall.

The coldness in her father’s eyes... the way he had held himself... it frightened her.

She almost couldn’t recognize him anymore. Not the way he looked in that dream.

No... he can’t have become like that, could he? Cold, and forgetting?

He can’t have forgotten her! Moved on, maybe, but... he can’t have forgotten her! He can’t have given up hope on her!

Right...?

She hugged herself tightly as her breathing began to quicken.

And she wished she could just get home already.

❧

_“You can’t be in the room this time, Susanna.”_

_“Why not?”_

_“It’s too dangerous.”_

_“It can’t be that dangerous, can it?”_

_“Do not leave the room, alright?”_

_“But, Daddy-”_

“Do not leave the room.”

_..._

_..._

_..._

_It can’t have been that dangerous, right?_

_It was only... it was just a portal._

_Nothing could go wrong, right?_

_Right?_

_...Everything’s okay, right...?_

❧

...The city was just like she remembered.

Big. Impossibly so. Full of thousands of people, living their lives, going about their day. She used to watch them from her father’s estate.

And there, at the city’s heart...

The headquarters of Haltmann Works, towering over the city.

The difference was the half-completed dome behind the tower.

She would have to ask about that.

She was tempted to run into the building right then and there and demand to see her father, but she didn’t even know if her father was here. He could be away, on a business trip...

She clenched her fists around her makeshift bag in impatience. She was so sick of waiting. Months in the hospital, weeks on that insufferably slow shuttle, and if she had to wait for her father, too-

She’d waited for him in that place. Waited days and weeks and months and years.

And he’d never bothered to show up.

She stopped mid-walk.

...Where had that come from? She’d never felt... She’d never felt such hatred before. And for her _father_.

She wasn’t angry with him. She couldn’t be, not after he must have done everything in his power to bring her back. He must have tried and tried and tried. And, even if he had given up hope... he must still believe she was alive. He had to believe she was alive.

She swallowed hard, and shoved that horrible cold blackness deep down inside of her. She would not be resentful when she reunited with her father. She would not be angry. Not after everything that had happened.

She was so tired from this ordeal. She just wanted to be home. She just wanted to be her father’s daughter again.

Was that too much to ask for?

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann._

She squared her shoulders, and found the closest hotel that she could afford with the funds she had been provided.

If she was to wait, then she would be patient.

Yes, she was going to be patient.

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann. I will not give up hope._

❧

_Are all these memories just... memories, now?_

_Is it impossible to make new ones again?_

_Is... is all this for nothing?_

_Did... did I survive for nothing?_

_Daddy, will you remember me?_

_You promised me._

_You promised you wouldn’t abandon me._

_You promised._

You promised

**YOU PROMISED-**

❧

Max Haltmann was to return from a project today.

She had waited for five days. Five days, she’d been patient, paying for her nights in the hotel she’d managed to book a room for, wandering the city all day to see how different her world had become. The enourmous dome behind the tower was supposedly going to be very, very large-the size of a moon, in fact.

She wondered what it was called. Had it been her father’s idea, or someone else’s?

She wondered if she ever would have been able to come up with such a thing.

She’d eavesdropped on the people coming in and out of the building, and that was how she’d discovered her father was away, working on a project on another planet. She hadn’t caught the planet’s name, but she was certain it may have started with an R.

But that wasn’t the important part.

The important part was that her father was coming home.

Today.

Her heart was pounding. There would be media crews by the ship’s hangar, and they may be a hassle to get through, but... who cared? Who cared if their reunion was broadcast to the whole galaxy?

She just wanted to see her father. Wanted him to look her in the eyes and tell her he’d never forgotten her.

That he’d always been waiting for her.

That he hadn’t broken his promise to never abandon her.

Perhaps then the feeling in her chest that grew with each passing day would cease.

She woke bright and early, found her nicest clothes, and brushed her hair. She didn’t look like the heiress to the galaxy’s strongest company, but she did look like her father’s daughter. She’d seen pictures of him throughout the city. He looked like he had before.

He looked like he did in her dreams-older, confident, powerful.

(She ignored how the people would sometimes glance at his image in fear.)

There were obvious resemblances between them. They had the same eyes, the same facial structure... her father was rounder, though.

Surely he must recognize her!

She left her things inside her room. She may not need it again, but she had to be cautious. She had to make sure she managed to contact her father first.

If she failed to reach him now, then she would try again. She would break down the doors to Haltmann Works and demand an audience if she needed to. She would be reunited with her father, and everything would be okay again.

She hadn’t survived years alone in a horrible place, fought tooth and nail to stay alive, worked tirelessly on a machine built on prayers and hope and memories just for it all to end here. She would find her father. She would show him that she was alive. That she was home.

And then she would be where she belonged.

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann. I will go home._

There was dread and excitement warring in her chest as she left the hotel. She’d spent the past five days using what was left of her funds to buy clothes, food, things to take care of herself. She missed being able to just... get whatever she wanted.

She could have that again, she told herself. All she needed to do was this.

All she needed to do was find her father and tell him she’d come home.

That was all she needed to do...

So why was she so scared?

The cold feeling of resentment was there, too, but she never let herself dwell on it for too long. She couldn’t... she couldn’t blame anyone for what had happened. Nobody had wanted this to happen.

It had made irreparable changes, but... but perhaps they could start again. They could begin to heal.

All she needed to do was make her father recognize her.

As she stopped before the docking bay, the wide hangar ready for the ship’s arrival, she worried that it may be more difficult than she’d hoped.

The place was crowded. Apparently everyone in the city was invested in the return of her father, regardless of the nervous glances from civilians. Regardless of the security bots patrolling near the company building, intimidating Susanna to no end. They’d had security bots when she was young-but those had been menacing.

She took a deep breath and swallowed.

She just needed to reach her father.

Nobody noticed her as she tried to make her way to the front of the crowd as the view of the ship appeared in the sky. She stopped for only a moment to admire the ship’s size as it came into view-she’d never seen a ship so sleek and professional, not even in all her years of traveling with her father.

The ship was modern, she supposed. Enough years had passed-technology must have evolved greatly while she was gone. The things that had been created while she was away... she’d only seen a small fraction of it in the city. It had awed her and terrified her in equal measure.

Soon, she hoped, she would stop feeling so disconnected from time itself.

She stopped thinking when she saw the ship arrive. Saw it land, enormous and plunging the crowd into shadow. She could see the news cameras hovering overhead-her father was home, and the whole planet would know all about it.

She swallowed in fear.

What if... what if... what if...

A million what if’s zoomed in her head, dominating every thought. What if what if what if. So many ways this could go wrong, and only one way it could go right.

She needed this to go right. Needed her life to go right.

She was going to reclaim her life today.

Then the ship’s hangar door opened, and there he was.

Her father.

She struggled to find breath as she saw him, real, alive. As real as she was, as alive as she was. Even after everything, he was still here, and she was still here.

And they could be better, and they could heal-

**DADDY!**

She didn’t realize she had tears in her eyes until she sobbed and began shoving past the people in the crowd, trying to get to her father. The words she wanted to say got caught in her throat, and she struggled to swallow. Her vision became blurry.

She was going to cry. She was going to absolutely lose it in front of the whole galaxy if she kept going.

“Dad!” She yelled out. A few people turned towards her, but quickly ignored her once she moved past.

Soon, she was at the front of the crowd. Her father was right there, talking to a reporter, perhaps about some business deal or other-

She didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything but her father. She didn’t care how public this was, she didn’t care about appropriateness.

There was no need for images of professionalism. Not when she’d waited years for this and her father was *right there*.

“DAD!”

She was stopped. She gasped as she nearly ran into the security bot that appeared in front of her, tall and intimidating. She’d never felt afraid of machinery before. Not before Star Dream, at least. But these machines...

These machines were not made to make people feel safe.

“Move!” She exclaimed. Her father was moving away. He was getting away...!

“YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED BEYOND THE SET BARRIERS,” the robot intoned. She blinked, then saw the metal rails, the only things keeping the crowd from flooding the whole hangar.

“You don’t understand,” she cried out. “He’s my _father_!”

“YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED-”

“For stars’ sakes, LET ME THROUGH!” She screamed, shoving past it. “I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann!”

She pushed the robot harder than she’d meant to, and it actually tilted backwards. It’s struggle for balance gave her the opening she needed to push forwards, past the robot, past the people, over the railing-

Everyone was yelling. Stunned by this girl who was so desperate to reach the President.

She didn’t care, didn’t care, didn’t _care_ -

“DAD!”

Her father turned towards her...

And she stopped. And she was frozen. By his stare.

Those were not the eyes of a father finding his long lost daughter.

He stared at her with pure ice.

“Excuse me?” He snapped.

She couldn’t find the words. Did he not... Did he not see...?

“D... Dad,” she stammered, the word quiet amidst the chaos. “It’s me.”

“Hmm?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t quite _hear_ you.”

Everyone was yelling, there were security bots chasing after her, a reporter was yelling at her to repeat what she said-

“It’s me,” she repeated. “Susanna.”

“Susanna who?”

“Your... Dad, you don’t-”

“I don’t know if you noticed, girl,” her father growled- _growled_ -at her, “but I’m a very powerful, very _busy_ man. I don’t have time for riffraff.”

Riffraff!?

She opened her mouth to protest. “But, I-”

“Can someone get rid of her, please? I’ll have no more interruptions!”

“Dad! It’s me! I’m Susanna!”

But her father didn’t say a word. Looked at her with that deeply irritated stare. He looked at her like she was dirt on his shoe.

“Dad! Please!”

He turned his back on her. Like she wasn’t there. Like her existence was already being forgotten.

Both her arms were grabbed and she was dragged away. Away from her father.

She opened her mouth and started screaming.

“DAD! DAD, DON’T YOU SEE!?”

He didn’t see her, didn’t hear her, didn’t recognize her-

He didn’t even care about her. He had become... something cold. Something horrible.

What had he become? What had happened to him? Where was her father? Her kind, gentle father? Where was the man who loved her and raised her?

That man... that man was not her father...!

She started to scream. And scream and scream. She screamed for anyone to listen to her, to recognize her, but no one did.

She was thrown into the crowd by those security bots, not caring if she was trampled or bruised. She got to her fight, wanting to try and make it back to him-

_It’s no use. He doesn’t care._

That’s not true, it’s not true-

_Get out of there before you humiliate yourself further._

She wanted to scream at the voice in her head, at her father, at the world itself. She wanted to rage at the entire universe for taking her father and morphing him into something else.

 _I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann_.

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann._

_I am-_

**You are no one.**

She ran from the crowd. She ran from her father. She ran from that awful place, and she ran.

She ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran.

❧

**Who are you?**

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann._

**Are you so sure?**

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann._

**Your father doesn’t even recognize you anymore.**

_I am Susanna..._

**He doesn’t love you anymore.**

_I am..._

**Do you think he even remembers you?**

_I am..._

**Now you understand.**

_I am..._

**This is why you never should have come home.**

_..._

_..._

_...Who am I?_

❧

She didn’t know how she got home. All she knew was that she could only spend a few minutes in that hotel room, staring at all the things she had, thinking of all the things she’d lost. Her childhood, her memories, her dreams-

Did any of it even matter anymore?

She couldn’t stay. She couldn’t stay, because if she did, she would rip out her hair.

She left that room. Went to the streets again. Everyone around her was abuzz with the debacle from the hangar. She wanted to hiss at them all. But deep down, she knew she deserved to be laughed at.

After all, she'd just made a fool of herself on live TV.

She ran down the streets, not caring about who saw her, not caring if they judged her for the wild look in her eyes or her disheveled hair and clothes. Nothing mattered anymore. Her father hadn't recognized her.

You knew, you knew, you knew-

She somehow managed to find a library, demanding access to one of the computers. The librarian curtly asked how she would pay for it.

She slapped down the required amount, and she was allowed in without another word.

As soon as she was in a seat, her fingers were on a keyboard. She hadn't typed in years, and it was a struggle to spell her own name.

But she finally got it right, and entered her name into the search bar.

She needed to see, needed to know why he'd reacted the way he had-

_HALTMANN WORKS HEIR AND OTHERS KILLED IN WORMHOLE MALFUNCTION._

She stopped. And stared.

And stared.

With shaking hands, she directed the cursor and clicked the link to an article dating only a few days after her disappearance.

_In a tragic malfunction, several employees of Haltmann Works, including the owner’s daughter, have been declared dead after a failure to recover their bodies. It is believed that Haltmann Works was experimenting with an ancient wormhole system when the accident occurred._

_Eight-year-old Susanna Patrya Haltmann was among the victims killed in the accident. The only daughter of company owner Max Profitt Haltmann, she was set to inherit the company upon her father’s retirement. A replacement heir has not been named._

_The device that caused the accident appears to have lost all function and will most likely be disposed of._

Her vision started to blur. Her head was pounding. She was dizzy.

Dead, dead, dead. She was... dead?

No, of course she wasn’t dead. She was here, living, breathing.

But... she was dead? They thought she had died?

She thought of the employees devoured by those creatures. She suddenly had a very deep urge to throw up.

That was why he never came for her, she realized, her entire body becoming ice cold. He thought she was dead. He never looked for her because he thought all that would be left of her was a corpse.

Perhaps he believed that, like the others, she had been killed upon arrival in that world.

Oh stars. Oh _stars_.

The whole universe thought she was dead. No wonder her father had become so cold and bitter. No wonder no one seemed to care as she claimed who she was.

Because in the eyes of the universe, Susanna Patrya Haltmann was dead.

Dead as the very first creature she had killed.

She was going to be very, very sick.

She closed the article. Searched her father’s name.

_HALTMANN INSTALLS NEW MOTHER COMPUTER, WHICH WILL CONTROL OPERATIONS WITHIN ENTIRE COMPANY._

_HALTMANN BEGINS TESTING FOR MECHANIZATION PROGRAM._

_HALTMANN ANNOUNCES CONSTRUCTION OF ACCESS ARK._

The dome, she thinks, remembering the half-completed dome behind her father’s building. _He’s building a new moon._

Since when was he capable of such a thing? Since when had father become so powerful?

Since when had he become so cold?

_HALTMANN REFUSES STATEMENT ON ANNIVERSARY OF DAUGHTER’S DEATH._

_HALTMANN WORKS FAST BECOMING WEALTHIEST COMPANY IN THE GALAXY._

_HALTMANN WORKS PRINTS MONEY WITH PRESIDENT’S FACE._

_HALTMANN..._

_HALTMANN..._

_HALTMANN..._

Haltmann this, Haltmann that. All stories of his great achievements, all the things he had done without her. He had done what he had dreamed of-he’d created a new future, forged the tools for evolution, and he’d done it all without her. He’d done it all alone.

He’d forgotten her.

Just as she knew he would.

 _Stop it!_ She wanted to yell. _Stop with the bitterness!_

He forgot he forgot he forgot he forgot-

She shot to her feet. She ran to the bathroom.

She barely reached the toilet in time before she began to heave.

She gasped for breath as she flushed.

“Are you alright, honey?” The woman in the stall next to her asked.

She didn’t answer.

“Do you need me to call a doctor?”

“...no.”

“Alright...”

_I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann-_

_She is_ **DEAD.**

He’d forgotten her. He’d left her for dead, and he’d forgotten her.

What would she do now? What would she do now that nothing would ever be okay again?

She had no future. Not if her father didn’t remember her.

She was still so inexperienced. She’d left the world as a child, and she knew nothing of how to be an adult. She didn’t know how to take care of herself. How would she learn? How would she ever catch up?

How could she have ever dared to hope? What good had hope done for her?

Nothing. Hope had done nothing, and now it was all gone. She’d run out.

There was no hope.

There was no happy ending.

❧

_What do you do when the whole world-no, the whole universe-thinks you dead?_

_What do you do when not even the people who loved you remember you?_

_What do you do when your identity is erased, and nothing you can do can turn back time?_

_What do you when you lose everything?_

_Who do you become?_

_Do you continue pursuing the past?_

_Or do you turn to the future?_

_What do you do?_

_Susanna, what will you do?_

❧

Were those dreams of her father visions? Prophecies?

She didn’t know. She didn’t know much of anything anymore.

Everything she’d believed in had been shattered to dust. It seemed that nothing she could do would prove to her father that she was his long-lost daughter, back from the dead. Besides, it was clear he’d moved on. Forgotten her.

He’d promised her, once, that he would never abandon her. That he would never forget her. That he would always come looking.

When had that changed? Why had that changed?

It was a struggle to even leave her bed. All she could think about was the ice in her father’s eyes. The cruelty.

Her father had transformed into something cold. He was no longer the man she saw in her memories.

Did her memories even mean anything anymore?

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her father glaring at her. Not even realizing who she was.

Perhaps he never would. Perhaps she would always be a stranger to him.

It was too late. Too late to try.

She’d been too late.

And now... she was dead to the world.

...What was she going to do?

Who do you become when your old identity is dead?

❧

_No. Oh, stars, no._

_Not here again._

_Here, in this office, with her father and the Mother Computer._

_She opened her mouth to try again._

_“DAD!”_

_He didn’t listen. Instead, he turned to look at the Mother Computer._

_“I’ve realized something.”_

_The Mother Computer said nothing._

_“I’ve decided to stop worrying about what people think. After all... money is power, after all.”_

_The Mother Computer, again, said nothing._

_“Well, you’re sure quiet.”_

_“DAD! Listen to me! I’m right here!” she sobbed._

_“I’m not dead!”_

_Nothing._

_“Dad!”_

_Nothing._

_“DADDY!”_

_She could scream herself hoarse and he wouldn’t hear her, would he? She’d been screaming her whole life. Screaming for him to notice her, to see her, to remember her. And in the years since she’d been taken, the years spent trapped, he’d never once replied. Never once saw her._

_She truly was dead to him._

_“Whatever,” her father sighed. “I have work to do.”_

_And just like that, he was gone again. Turning his back on her._

_Tears streamed down her face._

_She couldn’t say a word._

_She buried her face in her hands and sobbed._

_“I AM SORRY YOU HAD TO SEE THAT.”_

_She gasped and turned and stared at the computer._

_She took a deep breath as her heart filled with ice._

_“You did this to him,” she whispered._

_“I DID WHAT?”_

_“You... made him into that,” she said. “You made him forget me.”_

_“I DID NO SUCH THING. HE FORGOT ALL ON HIS OWN. I SIMPLY GAVE HIM ADVICE ON HOW.”_

_“Why? Why would you let him forget!?”_

_“EMOTIONS ARE SUCH BURDENSOME THINGS. HE IS MUCH BETTER OFF WITHOUT IT.”_

_She was going to scream again. She was going to scream at this computer._

_Never had she ever wanted to destroy something like she wanted to rip apart that computer at that very moment._

_“YOU ARE, TOO, YOU KNOW.”_

_She clenched her fists. She couldn’t speak. She was too angry._

_She was going to_ **SCREAM** _-_

_“IF YOU TRULY WANT TO GET TO ME,” the computer said, “THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO FORGET TOO.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“You’ll understand.”_

_“STAR DREAM!”_

❧

Her eyes shot open and she sat upright in bed.

She was shaking. Shaking with anger and something else.

...Hatred.

Hatred towards the world, hatred towards Star Dream, and hatred, even, for her father.

For so many things. For everything.

She gripped the hotel bedsheets so hard she could have ripped them. She had half a mind to.

It was the computer’s fault. For everything. For sending her away, for malfunctioning. For turning her father into an emotionless man with a cold heart.

She had to do something. She had to do anything.

She had to get out of here. Out of this life.

She had to make her father remember, had to free from that horrible computer’s influence.

But how?

How could she avenge her own falsified death? How could she make her father see her as herself again?

Slowly, she unclenched her fists. Stared at her hands.

Thought of all the things she’d created with those hands.

Slowly, her eyes turned towards the pack resting by the door. Full of the remains of her fundings from those kindhearted doctors.

As well as the creations of a prodigy who could have great value in a company like Haltmann Works.

Slowly, a plan started to form.

It could take years, it could take such a very, very long time, but... what else did she have to live for?

What other reason did she have to make it this far?

After all, Susanna Patrya Haltmann was dead.

So she’d have to be someone else entirely.

She smiled.

She reached for her creations, the tools that could get her into her father’s company.

And threw away everything that didn’t matter anymore.

❧

_Several months later..._

❧

She was beaming as she rode the elevator to the president’s office, notebook in hand.

It had taken a while to figure out where to start, but once she had, she hit the ground running.

She sold off some of her less important inventions to get a solid amount of money to support her, but if this interview went as well as she planned, then she would be set for life.

After all, no one else had been able to rise this far so quickly.

She’d made sure word spread like wildfire. Rumors of a mechanical genius with nothing to her name but her remarkable skills in robotics. She made sure that her ideas were on the verge of something revolutionary, with just enough intrigue that the president himself requested her presence.

She would have no one else see her. No other company. She’d rejected many offers from other, smaller companies looking to one-up the famous Haltmann Works, but she would only settle for the best.

After all, she had grown up with plenty of knowledge on business. And to never settle for anything lesser.

Her father had taught her that, but she’d had to plenty of time to figure things out for herself. She understood, now, how the universe worked.

She understood, now, that she would have to fight tooth and nail for her place in it.

The elevator stopped with a ding. The doors slid open.

And there he was. Sitting behind a grand desk in an enormous office, home to the most powerful man in the galaxy.

No sign of the Mother Computer. Understandable. She’d hardly found any information it, so it was safe to assume it was Haltmann’s most treasured secret. After all, it must have gotten him pretty far to have as much wealth as he did now.

She was still smiling as she approached that desk. As she squeezed her notebook close.

Contained within where plenty of ideas for him to want to bring her on. She’d made sure of that.

“Good afternoon, Mr. President,” she exclaimed.

“Good afternoon to you, too,” he replied, as formal and professional as ever. He didn’t appear to recognize her.

Good.

“I’ve heard you’re interested in starting a career with this company.”

“You heard correctly, sir,” she said. She too, was as professional as she was with every businessperson she’d met with throughout the months.

“Well, you’re certainly ambitious. I like that in an employee.” The president leaned forward over the desk. “Now, tell me why you think you’d be a good match for the type of position you appear to be pursuing?”

She’d prepared for this.

“Well,” she began, “I’ve always had an interest for mechanics for as long as I can remember, and I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t good at it. My family used to consider me a prodigy.”

“A prodigy?”

She nodded. “But it wasn’t until a few months ago that I realized I could make a career out of something I used to consider a hobby,” she said. “And, well... as you said, I am very ambitious. I decided to see how far I could go with the skills I had.”

“Interesting explanation, but... what value would you have working here?”

Of course. She’d prepared for that question, too.

They both knew what she was capable of.

Now she needed to prove her worth to the company.

“Well, if you look in here,” she said, offering her notebook to the president, “you’ll see I’ve quite a few ideas on how to make this company greater.”

“Truly?”

She nodded. “I’ve been a fan of this company for as long as I can remember,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be of use.”

Be humble, she’d taught herself. Make him believe she was nothing less than humble, loyal, and ready to serve.

The president frowned in thought as he opened the book and began perusing her notes. Her ideas. Her suggestions.

Her heart began to race when she saw his eyes go wide.

“Goodness... that right there could be...”

She didn’t dare speak.

“...Just what I need to make the Access Ark traverse entire galaxies!” He exclaimed.

Her own eyes went wide now.

“Truly?” She asked. “You mean, the large dome behind the building?”

“Yes!” He exclaimed. For the first time since this meeting started, he met her eyes, and he looked at her with genuine respect. “It appears the rumors were true. You... you’re a prodigy unlike any I’ve ever seen!”

“Thank you, sir!” She exclaimed.

“I think someone like you... if you have more ideas like this, then I think you’d be of immense value to this company!”

“I promise you, there’s more where that came from!”

He sat back in his chair and hummed in thought.

“...You remind me of another prodigy I used to know.”

Her entire body froze.

“...Really.”

“Yes,” he said. “Though I can barely remember their name... they might have been an apprentice or something, I don’t know.”

She relaxed.

...Of course. No reason to hope for anything.

“But they were remarkably good,” he sighed. “Shame I never saw them again.” He sat straight. “I’ve been in need of a good executive assistant for a while, now,” he said. “Would that be a good enough position for you?”

Her eyes went wide and her heart started to race. She’d been putting the bar pretty high for herself, but executive assistant! She hadn’t thought she’d make it that close that soon!

Her entire face lit up.

“I would be honored!” She exclaimed. “When can I start?”

“As soon as you’re set up!” The president declared. “We can discuss the details as soon as you like. Are we in agreement?”

And he reached out a hand for her.

And for just a second, she was eight years old again. Reaching for that same hand. Screaming, screaming, screaming-

She forced the memory deep into the recesses of her mind.

That life was over. That version of herself was gone.

She shook the president’s hand.

And they both smiled. Business partner to business partner.

“By the way...”

“Hmm?”

“What’s your name? I’ve asked around, but I don’t think I’ve ever properly learned it.”

Her smile didn’t falter.

Soon. Soon, everything would be alright again.

“I am Susie.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you somehow made it all the way through, congrats! And thanks for taking the time to read this!
> 
> I honestly wrote this for funsies and because I love origin stories for villainous characters. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


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